French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape – DIY Easter Decor

Hello Friends,

Welcome back to Part 5 of my French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape Mini Series.

Today, I’m wrapping up the mini series with my easy French Country Cottage Ten Minute Easter Tablescape Centerpiece.

I’m also sharing my creative thinking and planning process of how I create tablescapes (applicable to any design style or theme); how I drill down my design concepts into actionable steps; and a few other tidbits along the way.

Here’s a quick reminder of my French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape Mini Series with links for easy DIY how-to instructions.

• Part 1: Easy DIY Bird’s Nest Charger Plates
• Part 2: Easy DIY Bunny Name Place Cards
• Part 3: Easy DIY Decoupaged Eggs
• Part 4: Easy No-Sew Table Linens
• Part 5: Ten Minute Easter Table Centerpiece and Mini Series Wrap Up

What Comes First, The Chicken or The Egg? And Why is This Relevant?

Oftentimes, I get asked, “Kristy, how the heck do you come up with these things? Where do you find inspiration? How do you know which things to use and how do you make it all look so put together?” My short answer is:  An Idea + A Plan.

Generally speaking, everything that I create – whether it’s a whole home design, single room design, tablescape, Christmas Tree decorating, etc. – starts with an idea, a design style, a theme, or some design element; and from that, a design concept is born.

As to where I find inspiration…EVERYWHERE! Literally, anything and everything inspires me. It can be nature and all of its wonderous, colorful glory; the architecture of a beautiful home; the patterns and colors of fabrics, area rugs, tile, artwork; discovering a new decor object or piece of furniture; other designer’s/creator’s work; each season; and so much more.

Answering the question of how I know which things to use and how I make it all look so put together is probably easier to explain, and best understood, if I walk you through my creative thought and planning processes. See below.

How To Create a Rustic French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape

In this instance of my rustic French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape, I started with a holiday theme, Easter. My home is a blend of French Country & European Country design styles and I wanted this year’s Easter tablescape to have that same rustic, yet elegant, look and feel. With the theme and overall design aesthetics decided upon, I then drill it down to the individual design elements needed and plan accordingly.

Creative Thinking & Planning Processes of My Rustic French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape – AKA: The Design Concept

1. Design a French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape – One that’s rustic & elegant with an earthy vibe & somewhat muted color palette.
2. Determine the layers of each table place setting, table linens needed, and miscellaneous place setting embellishments.
3. Create a rustic centerpiece to include nature-inspired elements such as greenery, flowers, bunnies, nests, and eggs.
4. Drill down #’s 1-3 into actionable steps & determine individual design elements needed.

The Design Elements of My Rustic French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape

1. Easter Table Centerpiece
   1. Wooden Tray or Willow Basket
   2. Topiaries and Other Greenery/Flowers
   3. Bunnies
   4. Nests with Eggs
   5. Miscellaneous Items to Complete Look – Books, Small Cutting Boards, Cloche, Corbel Bookends, and Wooden Beads
2. Easy No-Sew Table Throw
3. Individual Place Settings
   1. DIY Bird’s Nest Charger Plate
   2. Dinner Plate & Salad Plate
   3. Easy No-Sew Napkin
   4. Bunny Name Place Card
   5. Decoupaged Easter Egg
   6. Glassware
   7. Flatware

Gathering Items Needed for French Country Cottage Easter Tablescape

Once I have my design concept and plan in place, I create a shopping list. First, I shop my home to see what design elements (items) I have on hand and then create a list of the items that I’ll need to purchase in order to complete the look I want to create. Fortunately for this tablescape, I had most of the items on hand with the exception of the white daisy lace fabric, and topiary greenery and clay pots.

As I’m shopping my home for possible design elements to use on my tablescape, I stage them on the server console near my breakfast nook. Next, I complete any shopping that needs to be done, as well as, any DIY craft projects that I’ll be using as part of the tablescape, For this tablescape, I had a total of five super easy DIY projects – (1) Bird’s Nest Chargers; (2) Bunny Name Place Cards; (3) Decoupaged Easter Eggs; (4) Easy No-Sew Table Linens; and (5) DIY Topiaries.

With Shopping & DIY’s Complete It’s Time To Set The Table!

Creating A French Country Cottage Easter Table Centerpiece

First things first…the foundation pieces. The table linens are the foundation pieces of any well-designed tablescape. They can consists of a tablecloth, table scarf, table runner, placemats, or a combination thereof. Next, comes the centerpiece, and lastly, the individual place settings. Admittedly, I sometimes do a couple of place settings first to see how simple or elaborate I want the centerpiece to be, but it’s generally easier to work from the middle to the outside of the table.

Whenever I’m using several items to create a centerpiece I like to corral items in or on a tray or basket. As you can see in photos, I turned the wooden crate upside down for this centerpiece. I did this for a couple of reasons. For starters, turning the crate upside down gave the centerpiece an automatic lift, acting as a pedestal of sorts. Secondly, had I used the crate right-side up, you wouldn’t have been able to see all of the elements in their entirety and I would’ve needed filler to fill the gaps in-between each items. And lastly, placing items on top of the upside down crate gives the look of an intentional gathering of items instead of a haphazard collection of knick knacks placed directly on the tabletop.

Arranging Items for a Pleasing Centerpiece

Placing items at varying heights adds depth and dimension to a centerpiece and is much more pleasing on the eye versus having everything on the same plane. If you look closely at all of the design elements, you’ll notice that a few of them are fairly close in size/height. By using old books and small cutting boards as risers, as well as, playing around with placement (background and foreground), it allows for each item to be seen individually, as well as, part of the whole composition. You’ll also notice that I place taller items in the background and the shorter items up front. Again, this allows you to see all parts of the centerpiece composition.

How To Create A Beautiful Tablescape: Cheat Sheet Edition

See More of My Home Here and Check Out More Easter Decor Inspiration Here and Here. Be sure to follow along on both to make sure you never miss a thing!

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